THE MARKETING 100: SPICE GIRLS: SIMON FULLER

Simon fuller likes to keep a low profile. No interviews, no photographs.

That's not how he feels about his top client: the Spice Girls, who have taken the international pop world by storm and thrown the squeaky clean teen fantasy image out the window.

Mr. Fuller, of 19 Management, reportedly took on Spice Girls in March '95, even though he wasn't looking for new acts. The strength of the girls' material and their strong characters sold the experienced U.K. manager.

Mr. Fuller took Spice Girls to the major labels, where he decided on Virgin Records, which made taking Spice Girls international a priority.

The assertive, streetwise, sexy gang of five women has won over the pop music world from Thailand to Mexico to Denmark. Spice Girls is the first U.K. act to go No. *1 in the U.S. with their single "Wannabe," which has been No. *1 in 32 countries.

The girls' images as individuals-allowed to bloom under Mr. Fuller's management-have fascinated the media, from the upmarket U.K. Guardian to the boys' mag Loaded.

What next? There's talk of Spice Girls Sindy Dolls, and a Monkees-style Spice Girls movie, not to mention Spice, a magazine being promoted by a mail campaign